| Black
Is...Black Ain't
White Americans have always stereotyped African Americans. But the rigid definitions of "blackness" which African Americans impose on each other, Riggs claims, have also been devastating. Is there an essential black identity? Is there a litmus test defining the real black man and true black women? Riggs' uses his grandmother's gumbo as a metaphor for the rich diversity of black identities. His camera criss-crosses the country bringing us face-to-face with black folks young and old, rich and poor, rural and urban, gay and straight, grappling with the paradox of numerous, often contested definitions of blackness. Riggs mixes performances by choreographer Bill T. Jones and poet Essex Hemphill and commentary by noted cultural critics Angela Davis, Bell Hooks, Cornel West, Michele Wallace, Barbara Smith, and Maulana Karenga into this flavorful stew of personal testimony, music, and history. While Black Is...Black Ain't rejoices in black diversity, many speakers bare the pain of having been silenced or excluded because they were perceived as "not black enough," or conversely, "too black." Black Is...Black Ain't marshals a powerful critique of sexism, patriarchy, homophobia, colorism and cultural nationalism in the black family, church and other black institutions. Cornel West concludes, "We've got to conceive of new forms of community. We each have multiple identities and we're moving in and out of various communities at the same time. There is no one grand black community." Riggs' own urgent
quest for self-definition and community as a black, gay man dying from
AIDS ties the multiple perspectives together. Hooked up to an IV in
his hospital bed, Riggs takes strength for his struggle against AIDS
from the continual resilience of the African Americans in the face of
overwhelming oppression. As his death nears, he conjures up the image
of a black community nurturing and celebrating the difference and creativity
in each one of us. |
1995 Sundance
film Festival - filmmaker's trophy "A dense,
sizzling, stimulating gumbo of thought and emotion...A fascinating,
challenging film." "Riggs' eye
turns pain into poetry, ordinary people into prophets. To put it simply:
Black
Is...Black Ain't
is moving and brilliant." "Riggs couldn't
have left a more effective or challenging legacy to the black community...Not
just an insightful discussion of black consciousness, but a major contribution
to the exploration of how we develop our identities." "This is a brilliant,
stunning, illuminating journey. An absolute must as we make our way
to the close of this century." "A complex and
personal exploration of the multiplicity of black identity. Riggs himself
vibrantly addresses the camera from his hospital bed as he is dying
of AIDS." "A remarkably
courageous work of art...Riggs shows us a rare type of black heroism.
It is profoundly moving."
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The
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